South Korea Ranks First in OECD's Inaugural 'Digital Government Evaluation'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] South Korea ranked first overall in the 'Digital Government Evaluation (The OECD 2019 Digital Government Index),' conducted for the first time by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 16th, South Korea received a score of 0.742 out of 1 point in the digital government evaluation conducted by the OECD targeting a total of 33 countries, including 29 member countries and 4 non-member countries, to measure the level of digital transformation and digital government maturity of each country, securing the top overall index.

Looking at the detailed evaluation results, from 2018 to 2019 over two years, South Korea ranked first in the categories of 'Digital-First Government' and 'Open Government,' reflecting high recognition for the government's efforts to produce and innovate public services based on digital technology and to change systems and administrative procedures through active communication with the public.

In the 'Platform Government' category, efforts to break down barriers between ministries and develop integrated linkage systems ranked second, while in the 'Data-Driven Government' category, South Korea ranked third, and in the 'Citizen-Driven Government' category, fourth. However, in the 'Proactive Government' category, it was ranked 12th, indicating an area requiring further effort in the future.

Jang Su-wan, Director of the Digital Government Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, explained, "The government will steadily promote the intelligent (AI) government project, a representative task of the Korean New Deal, to provide customized and proactive services to the public and leap forward as a digital government that makes daily life more convenient."

Following South Korea were the United Kingdom (0.736 points), Colombia (0.729 points), Denmark (0.652 points), Japan (0.645 points), Canada, Spain, Israel, Portugal, and France, all ranking within the top 10 in the overall evaluation.

The OECD Secretariat stated in the report, "Countries such as South Korea and the United Kingdom, which ranked high, place 'digital government' at the center of government policy and actively promote whole-of-government reforms," adding, "This evaluation reflects these facts."

Previously, South Korea has been internationally recognized for excellence in digital government-related fields, ranking first in the 'OECD 2019 Public Data Openness Index,' first in the '2020 UN Online Participation Index,' second in the '2020 UN E-Government Development Index,' second among countries with populations over 20 million in the '2020 IMD (International Institute for Management Development) Digital Competitiveness,' and first in the '2020 Bloomberg Digital Transformation Country Ranking.'

Minister Jin Young of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said, "South Korea's efforts in digital government innovation, actively promoting digital transformation in the public sector, are being internationally recognized," and added, "We will faithfully carry out various tasks of the Digital New Deal so that South Korea can advance further in the era of digital transformation."